Connecting databases to the world wide web is an increasingly important skill for computer scientists and MIS/BIS as the WWW breaks down the traditional barriers of information sharing across organisations, allowing this vital process to be done cheaply and efficiently. Traditional database books present database design with any material on web-applications being a tackled later, almost as an afterthought. Similarly, web-development books may gloss over databases in a single chapter on SQL.
This book discusses database development but always in the context of the web. Thus it gives a genuine understanding of how to implement web databases rather than presenting one field and simply trying to ‘bolt-on’ the other afterwards. That said, it covers the core concepts of a traditional database design course and so offers the flexibility of learning database design separate from the web applications if desired.
Scripting is covered first so that, should the reader want to get the web context from the start, they understand how their application will be implemented before trying to design it.
"A meticulous and logical examination of territories where computer geeks live and territories where corporate planners live. A key strength of the work lies in the way it covers practicalities and perspectives in each area.”
- Dr. Stephen Sobol, University of Leeds
Databases are about information sharing. They allow many people to access data at the same time, and also to mine that data for useful information. In the past, however, many database applications were limited to one organization, and usually to a single physical location. Only the biggest companies had the necessary networking resources to allow their people to access information from multiple locations. The evolution of the world wide web, and the information sharing ethos it promotes, has smashed these boundaries. Now, any organization can use the Web to allow its people to access data from home, or to share its data with clients. Through its coverage of the web and database technologies, and by demonstrating the latest design techniques, this book will give you everything you need to start designing and building your own effective databases.
An Introduction to Databases with Web Applications takes a unique approach in that it gives equal weight to the key concepts of both database development and web technology and presents them in a single, introductory textbook. By setting database development in the context of the web the author overcomes the problem of learning each aspect in isolation and then trying to ‘bolt on’ one to the other. Instead, he gives you a genuine understanding and solid grounding in this important field.
This book will be invaluable to undergraduate students studying databases as part of: a business computing and information systems programme; a computer science degree; and those on wider business courses as they will all encounter databases throughout their professional careers.
Key features
- Covers the core of a traditional introductory database module, but sets the development in the context of the web.
- Covers scripting languages first so you understand how a database application is implemented before trying to design it.
- Chapter on XML presents some of the possibilities this non-relational alternative may offer the world of databases.
- Review questions and exercises allow you to test your knowledge, whilst investigations at the end of each chapter prompt you to delve even deeper into the topics presented.
Dr. Martyn Prigmore is a senior lecturer at the University of Huddersfield. He has eight years experience teaching web databases and e-commerce.
